Perhaps as a result of the continuing economic crisis, the number of non-custodial parents who are unable to meet the terms of the divorce agreement appears to be growing.

Of course this can have a disastrous affect on the children and as a result the Spanish government have enacted a social fund that can step in to assist those who are in this dire situation.

The fund - known in Spanish as the Fondo de Garantía del Pago de Alimientos - is available where the original maintenance award was made as a result of a judicial award (via contentious divorce proceedings) or judicially approved divorce agreement (express divorce proceedings) and in either case the maintenance payments are not made.

Eligibility for the Fund

There are a number of requirements in order to qualify for the assistance:

1) The relevant application forms need to be completed

2) The non-payment must be recognised by a Spanish court following                 proceedings taken by the custodial parent for said non-payment

3) All relevant accompanying documentation must be included in the application.

Of course, should proceedings be taken against the non-custodial parent for non-payment, it is open to the court to embargo any income earned by the non-custodial parent or any assets owned by them to satisfy their responsibility for making maintenance payments. In such a case the public fund would not be made available.

Other Requirements

The beneficiaries of the fund - the children - must be resident in Spain and either Spanish or European Union nationals although children from other countries may also be eligible in certain circumstances.

Perhaps one of the more important requirements relates to the income of the family in which the beneficiaries are integrated.

This may not be higher than 1.5 x IPREM if one child or 1.75 x IPREM if two children (and so on successively at increments of 0.25 per child) where IPREM is a basic income used in Spain for calculation of eligibility for various benefits. In 2012 IPREM is set at €6,390.13

Payments

If the application is successful an award of €100 per month per child is payable for a maximum period of 18 months, payable on the first of each month.

Anyone who is interested in applying for the fund will need to initiate civil proceedings first. For assistance with this process in English, go to: enforcement of maintenance orders in Spain.